Now that October is over it’s time for Thanksgiving to take front and center! Most families serve the same types of food for Thanksgiving. The real dilemma is what do with all of the leftover turkey and cranberry sauce! There’s a recipe combining both of them into an amazing lunch for the next day. It is called “Leftover Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Salad”. The mayonnaise can be substituted for greek yogurt, an even healthier option. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 cups leftover cooked turkey, shredded

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 green onions, chopped (whites and light green only)

1/3 cup walnuts (optional: toasted)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup cranberry sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 tsp paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

splash lemon juice

Instructions

In a large bowl combine turkey, celery, onions and walnuts.

Add in mayonnaise, cranberry sauce, garlic, spices and lemon juice.

Serve on bread or on a salad.

Note: the flavours get even better as it sits so I recommend making this in the morning and letting it sit for a few hours, but if not it’s still delish!

One of my favorite recipes when it starts to get chilly is Beef Stew! It is packed with protein and vegetables. Crockpot recipes are also great for college students because they can put it all in and leave it while they’re in class. Once they get home, there’s a meal waiting or them! This Low-Fat Homemade Beef Stew is a fall favorite.

Coat the beef with the flour then shake off the excess then sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Over medium heat, in a saucepan with extra-virgin olive oil, brown the floured beef then pour in the wine. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened and alcohol aroma is gone, about 5 minutes. Transfer the beef and its sauce to the crock pot.

In preparation for a test, most students look over the material briefly a couple days before the test, but they don’t hit the books hard until the day before. Studies have shown that this is not beneficial to long term learning. There are two types of studying as dictated by memory research: Massed and distributed practice. Massed is short bursts of studying while distributed is spreading the studying out over time. This has been shown to help students remember more information down the line which will be helpful when the cumulative final comes around.

Study for short periods of time over the course of 3-5 days (or more) before your test–this will help you retain the most information long term.

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Having epilepsy does not necessarily mean that the person with the disorder only has seizures. There is a wide variety of other issues that occur with a chronic disease such as epilepsy. A few other common conditions that occur with epilepsy may be:

“Not doing well” at home, school, work, or with friends.

Cognitive or learning problems that require special help or accommodations

Symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other changes in mood or behavior

Problems sleeping

Unexplained injuries, falls or other illnesses

Thinning of the bones or osteoporosis

Reproductive problems

Risk of death

There are several things to do if a person experiences any of these conditions, such as journaling the specific events, talking with their doctor, or simply educating themselves. Educating people that are around the person with epilepsy is important because the people around them may think that they are just being lazy or not trying. And of course sometimes it is hard for this person to actually realize what they are going through may be associated with their epilepsy, so educating everyone about this is important, especially if you are close or know someone with this disease.

Source: epilepsy.com

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There are too many people (especially college students) who skip breakfast on a daily basis. Reasons for skipping include time constraints and fear of weight gain. However, these breakfast-skippers are only hurting themselves. While asleep, the body suppresses organs in the body (such as the stomach) because they are not needed during that time. People don’t eat when asleep, therefore don’t need to digest anything when asleep. However, when one wakes up in the morning, the body recognizes this and begins to activate the organs that were suppressed while asleep. The body dumps acids into the stomach because the body expects food intake to occur. These acids are used to digest various food items. If one doesn’t eat in the morning, these acids just sit in the stomach and may cause stomach aches. Thus, eating something, even if it’s small, is important.

To ensure a breakfast is balanced, include all food groups. Be sure to get grains, protein, fruit and/or veggies, if possible, during your morning meal. Additionally, drink a glass of water with breakfast. After all, the body just went about 8 hours without water intake. One must rehydrate!

There are tons of fall recipes but my favorite is the “skinny” pumpkin chocolate chip cookies recipe! This recipe replaces granulated sugar with agave and pumpkin pie filling with pumpkin puree, making it a healthier choice to comfort food. Just by replacing the butter with coconut oil you can make it vegan as well! It is low fat and low calorie and perfect for autumn.

The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 12 cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

The classic combination of pumpkin and chocolate chips is absolutely irresistible, especially when combined together in soft and chewy cookies! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, pumpkin, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer than 1 hour, cover the top of the bowl with foil.)

Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Drop the cookie dough into 12 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly, and press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops of the cookie dough. Bake at 325°F for 15-17 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Notes: This cookie dough spreads a little, but not very much. If you prefer wider and thinner cookies, flatten the dough a little more before baking. (Flatten to no less than half of the rounded scoops’ original heights.)

Regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat pastry flour.

Granulated sugar may be substituted in place of the agave. However, when made with granulated sugar, the cookie dough does not spread at all while baking, so you will need to flatten the rounded scoops of cookie dough on the baking sheets before placing in the oven. They’re generally done baking in about 13-15 minutes instead.

For a vegan version, substitute melted coconut oil in place of the butter.

Do NOT overbake these cookies! They’ll turn out cakey instead of chewy if baked for too long.

Did you know that epilepsy is the 4th most common neurological problem? Only migraine, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease occurs more frequently. But, how many of you really know what this disease is and how it changes the lives of millions of people everyday? Luckily, the Wellness Zone will be posting daily statistics and facts about this disease during the month of November for Epilepsy Awareness Month. So, stay tuned for more info!